Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms C’s complaint that the Council told her mother, Mrs D, information she asked it to keep confidential. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) considers complaints about breaches of personal data and it would be reasonable for Ms C to ask the ICO to consider her concerns.

The complaint

1. Ms C says she asked the Council to complete an assessment of needs for her mother, Mrs D, but said not to tell Mrs D that she had asked it. Ms C says she was unable to cope with all the caring responsibilities she was undertaking for Mrs D. Ms C says the Council’s disclosure has impacted on her own health and relationship with Mrs D.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I discussed the concerns with Ms C and considered the information and documentation she and the Council provided. I sent Ms C a copy of my draft decision for comment.

Back to top

What I found

4. Ms C complained to the Council that it had breached confidentiality by disclosing to Mrs D that she had asked it to undertake an assessment of her needs.
5. The Council says when the staff member attended to undertake the assessment, Mrs D was talking to Ms C on the telephone. The Council says the member of staff asked to speak to Ms C and Mrs D went into another room. The staff member explained to Ms C she was there on request from Mrs D’s GP who had been advised by Ms C that she could not cope with all the calls she had received from Mrs D. Ms C says the staff member should not have discussed this in the presence of Mrs D as she had requested it remain confidential. The staff member confirmed Mrs D was in another room and had not overheard the conversation.
6. Ms C disputes this and has asked the Ombudsman to consider her concerns. The Ombudsman could not say what was said or overheard when he was not present and could not say the Council had breached Ms C’s confidentiality.
7. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) considers complaints about how organisations handle personal data and it would be reasonable for Ms C to ask the ICO to consider her concerns. Information about the ICO can be found on the website below:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=Information+commisisoners+office&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IESR4A&PC=UF03

Back to top

Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) considers complaints about breaches of personal data and it would be reasonable for Ms C to ask the ICO to consider her concerns.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman